Starship Special Initiative Actions

Usually a starship acts as soon as it can in combat, but sometimes it may want to act later, at a better time, or in response to the actions of another ship. Starships can delay or ready actions in the same manner as characters.
[h=5]AVOIDING HAZARDS[/h] A hazard is any unmanned obstacle of Large size or bigger that a starship might hit, either because the starship has entered the hazard’s square or because the hazard has entered the starship’s fighting space. Sample hazards include asteroids, clouds of space debris, and electromagnetic storms (which deal electricity damage). When a starship enters a square occupied by a hazard, or vice versa, the pilot of the starship must make a Pilot check. (Making this check does not count as an action.) The DC of the check depends on the size of the obstacle, as shown in Table: Avoid Hazard DCs. If the Pilot check succeeds, the starship avoids the hazard. If the check fails, a collision occurs (use Table: Collision Damage to determine collision damage to both the starship and the hazard). A new check must be made each round the starship and the hazard occupy the same square.

[bar]Table: Avoid Hazard DCs[/bar]
[h=5]MOVING THROUGH OCCUPIED SQUARES[/h] A starship can pass through a square occupied by another starship or object.

Ally or Nonopposing Starship: You can safely move through a square occupied by an ally or nonopposing starship.

Enemy Starship: Moving through a square occupied by an enemy provokes an attack of opportunity if the enemy has a point-defense system (see Starship Defense Systems). You can move safely through a square occupied by an enemy that doesn’t resist—such as one that is disabled—as if the enemy was nonopposing.

Hazard: Safely moving through a square occupied by a hazard—such as a cloud of space debris or an asteroid— requires a successful Pilot check (see Avoiding Hazards).
[h=4]Crossfire[/h] If two allied starships are on opposite sides of an enemy and each within 1,000 feet (2 squares) of that opponent, they can catch the enemy ship in their crossfire. Because the enemy is forced to defend itself on two fronts, the allied starships gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls made against the ship caught in their crossfire. The enemy ship must be directly between the two allied ships, however.
[h=5]ATTACKS OF OPPORTUNITY[/h] Attacks of opportunity work differently with starships than with characters.

A starship can only make an attack of opportunity if it is equipped with a point-defense system (see Starship Defense Systems). A starship can use its point-defense system to make an attack of opportunity against an enemy ship that enters or passes through its fighting space (any square it occupies on the battle grid) or any adjacent square.
[h=4]THREATENED SQUARES[/h] A starship equipped with a point-defense system threatens the squares it occupies (its fighting space) and all adjacent 500-foot squares. It can therefore make attacks of opportunity against enemy ships that enter or pass through its fighting space or any adjacent square.

A starship without a point-defense system does not threaten ships that enter or pass through its fighting space or adjacent squares.
[h=4]PROVOKING AN ATTACK OF OPPORTUNITY[/h] Two actions can provoke attacks of opportunity: moving out of a threatened square, and performing an action within a threatened square that distracts the pilot and forces her to do something other than evade incoming fire.
Moving Out of a Threatened Square: When a starship moves out of a threatened square, it generally provokes an attack of opportunity. There are two important exceptions, however. A starship doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity if it limits its movement to a single 500-foot shift or if it withdraws (see Withdraw).

Thus, if the square a starship occupies at the beginning of its turn is a threatened square, any movement it makes provokes an attack of opportunity (unless it withdraws or limits it move to a single 500-foot shift). If it doesn’t start in a threatened square but moves into one, it must stop there, or else it provokes an attack of opportunity as it leaves that square.

Performing an Action that Distracts the Pilot: Some actions, when performed in a threatened square, provoke attacks of opportunity because they make the pilot divert her attention from the battle at hand. Firing a starship weapon in a threatened square does not provoke attacks of opportunity, but Table: Starship Actions notes actions that do.
[h=4]MAKING AN ATTACK OF OPPORTUNITY[/h]
An attack of opportunity is a single attack made with a ranged starship weapon. A starship can only make one attack of opportunity per round. It doesn’t have to make an attack of opportunity if it doesn’t want to.

An attack of opportunity is made using the starship’s normal attack bonus—even if it’s already attacked in this round.